Aliza Hausman's Blog

Vote for Lawyer’s for Children! They saved my sister’s life!

Lady Gaga is partnering with Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty fighting organization, to give away $1 million. 100% of the money will help teens living in poverty.

One organization, Lawyers for Children, that is very dear to my heart is in the running. So far, they have only 7% of the votes. The Door, another awesome organization that helped me obtain free healthcare as a teen, is ahead with 33% of the vote. So why did I vote for Lawyers for Children instead of The Door?

Lawyers for Children helped me win custody of my sister after I kidnapped her away from my abusive, violent, mentally ill mother. She was 14 and I was 21 and most people thought I didn’t have a chance in hell to win custody of her. I certainly didn’t have money to pay for ANY legal fees (I was still a senior in college!), which included getting myself a lawyer–I had several pro-bono lawyers via inMotion, another awesome organization that sets up poor women with lawyers from top NYC firms–and my sister her own lawyer, which is where Lawyers for Children came in.

(This video is different than the second one featured above. Please watch this, too!)

Glenn Metsch-Ampel, the current Deputy Executive Director, worked tirelesslyfor three yearson our custody case without receiving a dime in exchange for all the hours spent helping me keep my sister happy and safe. He went above and beyond what he had to do considering he was working for us pro-bono. I do not believe we would have won the case without his help.

Please vote for Lawyers for Children. You can vote on Facebook daily as many times as possible up until Friday May 6 th, 2011 at 6:00am EST. Please do so HERE: LADY GAGA + ROBIN HOOD.

A note from Lawyers of Children:

“Lawyers For Children has been selected by Lady Gaga and the Robin Hood Foundation to compete for a share of a $1 million donation! The organization with the most votes will receive $500,000. There is no limit to how many times you can vote, and because we are a relatively small organization, we need as much help as we can get. Please vote often and spread the word to anyone you think would be interested in an easy, free way to support a wonderful organization. You have to be on facebook to vote, but even if you can’t vote for us personally, you can help our cause by forwarding this email and encouraging others to vote. You will have many important opportunities to vote in your life. This one will have the most direct impact on the lives of vulnerable children and young adults.”

More about Lawyers for Children:

About

In addition to free legal and social work services for youth in foster care, Lawyers For Children provides targeted public policy and class action advocacy to achieve system-wide changes in the field of child welfare. We also offer specialized services for the following groups of high-risk youth in foster care:

• Youth exposed to domestic violence• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth• Young people with special educational needs• Youth aging out of foster care• Youth coping with mental illness• Sexually abused young people• Youth in foster care who have immigrated to the United States

Positions

We listen carefully to our clients and provide services tailored to meet their needs, protect their rights and achieve their goals.

Our special projects focus on advocacy for the most vulnerable youth in foster care, including LGBTQ youth and youth aging out of care.

LFC’s clients are provided with the information and options that enable them to make the most important decisions in their lives.

Our individual representation of youth in foster care allows us to identify systemic problems and attack them through the courts and the legislature.